Once we start building our legacy to carry it forward, we begin to realize something important — we’re not carrying it alone. If we are lucky, every lesson, every victory, every mistake gets shared, shaped, and refined through the people around us. To me this is a true blessing.
That’s what community really is — the collective force that turns our individual stories into something bigger.
Today’s Inktober prompt was blunder. At first I had trouble coming up with anything, so I started looking through my old sketches, and I saw a heart. I couldn’t help but laugh at how perfect it fit. I drew the heart with multiple names scratched out — the classic tattoo artist inside joke. We’ve all seen it, and it never gets old. It’s a reminder that even our missteps connect us.
Everyone’s made choices that didn’t age well, but at least in our world, we can laugh about it, learn from it, and cover it with something better. That’s what good communities do — they give us space to grow, to fail, to laugh at ourselves, and to keep moving forward together.
Today’s Artist Hour subject was a panther and python locked in battle, surrounded by palms and hibiscus — a nod to my time in Hawaii. The panther and python represent tension and balance, power and patience. It’s a fight, but it’s also a dance — each shaping the other through resistance.
That’s how community works too. It’s not about everyone being the same or seeing things the same way. It’s about the friction that keeps us sharp, the respect that keeps us grounded, and the shared purpose that keeps us pushing forward.
Tattooing has its own kind of tribe — artists who share ideas, trade techniques, and still compete with fire in their guts. It’s not a rivalry born from ego, but from drive. We challenge each other to go bigger, bolder, cleaner — to raise the standard not just for ourselves, but for the craft.
And beyond the studio walls, there’s the community of veterans, first responders, and those who’ve walked similar roads. The people who understand sacrifice, endurance, and the weight of responsibility. That’s a bond that doesn’t fade — it just finds new forms.
For me, it’s found new life through art. Each tattoo I do for a vet, a firefighter, a medic — that’s connection, purpose, and legacy all coming full circle.
The palms and hibiscus in the artist hour sketch remind me that community, like nature, thrives in balance — strength rooted in connection, beauty shaped by resilience.
Community is where legacy grows legs. It’s where art and service meet, where stories overlap, and where meaning is multiplied. It’s not just about who stands beside us — it’s about who keeps us standing.
Community is the circle that keeps us going.